Text Segmentation

Integrity of word perception [as the basic condition of art] is inconceivable without conscious realization of the subordination and inter dependance of its components. Segmentation of any text has double purpose:

1. To present spans of utterance separately for easing the reader’s perception of the information.

2. For the author himself to reveal the character of temporal, space, image-bearing and other types of cohesion of the components.

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Hyperbole is a deliberate exaggeration of a certain quality of an object or phenomenon. assigned features. Hyperbole can be expressed by all notional parts of speech. The most typical cases of expression are: by pronouns (all, every, everybody, everything); by numerical nouns (a million, a thousand); by adverbs of time (ever, never). Hyperbole may be the final effect of other stylistic devices: metaphor, similie, irony. Communicative function. Hyperbole mounts the expressiveness of speech. Ex-s: Mary was scared to death. I beg a thousand pardons.

Meosis This figure of quantity is opposite in meaning to hyperbole. Meiosis is a deliberate diminution of a certain quality of an object or phenomenon. Assigned features. Meiosis underlines insignificance of such qualities of objects and phenomena as their size, volume, distance, time, shape, etc. The domain of meiosis is colloquial speech. Communicative function. Meiosis makes speech expressive. Ex-s: There was a drop of water left in the bucket. It was a cat-size pony.

Litotes is a specific variant of meiosis. Assigned features. Litotes has a peculiar syntactic structure. It is a combination of the negative particle "not" and a word with negative meaning or a negative prefix. Such a combination makes positive sense: "not bad" means "good", "not unkind" means "kind", etc.

Litotes is used in all functional styles of English. Communicative functions. Litotes extenuate positive qualities of objects or phenomena. It makes statements and judgments sound delicate and diplo­matic. It also expresses irony. Ex-s: The decision was not unreasonable. The venture was not impossible.

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Metonymy is transference of a name of one object to another object. Metonymic transference of names is based upon the principle of conti­guity of the two objects. Assigned features. As a rule, metonymy is expressed by nouns, less frequently – by substantivized numerals. That is why the syntactic functions and positions of metonymic words are those of the subject, object and predicative. Classification. Metonymy may be lexical and contextual (genuine). Lexical metonymy is a source of creating new words or new meanings: table's leg, teapot's nose, a hand (instead of a worker), the press (instead of people writing for newspapers). Such metonymic meanings are registered in dictionaries. It is obvious that lexical metonymy is devoid of stylistic information. Contextual metonymy is the result of unexpected substitution of one word r another in speech. It is fresh and expressive: This pair of whiskers is a convinced scoundrel. Communicative functions. Stylistic metonymy builds up imagery, points out this or another feature of the object described, and makes speech eco­nomical. ex-s: The sword is the worst argument in a situation like that. I wish you had Gary's ears and Jack's eyes. Linda gave her heart to the grocer's young man.

SYNECDOCHE This variety of metonymy is realized in two variants. The first variant is naming the whole object by mentioning part of it: Caroline lives with Jack under the same roof (under the same roofin the same house). The second variant of synecdoche is using the name of the whole ob­ject to denote a constituent part of this object: The hall applauded (the hall = the people inside).

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PERIPHRASIS This variety of metonymy is the replacement of a direct name of a thing or phenomenon by the description of some quality of this thing or phenomenon. Assigned features. Periphrasis intensifies a certain feature of the ob­ject described. It stands close to metonymy because it is one more way to rename objects. Classification. There are such types of periphrasis as logical and figu­rative. Logical periphrasis is based upon one of the inherent properties of the object: weapons = instruments of destruction;love the most pardonable of human weaknesses. Figurative periphrasis is based upon metaphor or metonymy: to marry = to tie the knot (metaphor). Communicative functions. Besides rendering stylistic information, periph­rasis performs a cognitive function: it deepens our knowledge of the ob­jective world.ex-s: cotton = white gold = белое золото;furs = soft gold = мягкое золото.

EUPHEMISM It is a word or word-combination which is used to replace an un­pleasantly sounding word or word-combination. Assigned features. Euphemism might be viewed as periphrasis: they have the same mechanism of formation. Strictly speaking, euphemisms are not stylistic devices but expressive means of language: most of them are registered in dictionaries. Classification. Euphemisms may be classified according to the spheres of their application and grouped the following way:1. Religious euphemisms: God = Lord, Almighty, Heaven, goodness. 2. Moral euphemisms: to die = to be gone, to expire, to be no more,depart, to decease, to go west, to join the majority, to pass away. 3. Medical euphemisms: lunatic asylum = mental hospital, madhouse; idiots = mentally abnormal, low, medium and high-grade mental defectives; cripple = invalid; insane = person of unsound mind. 4. Political euphemisms: revolt, revolution = tension; poor people = less fortunate elements. Communicative function. Euphemisms make speech more polite, cul­tured, delicate, acceptable in a certain situation.

Note. Euphemisms have their antipodes which might be called disphe­misms.

Disphemisms are conspicuously rough, rude and impolite words and word-combinations. The speaker resorts to disphemisms to express his neg­ative emotions, such as irritation, spite, hate, scorn, mockery, animosity. Here are some of them: to die = to kick the bucket; to urinate = to piss.

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Metaphor is the second figure of quality. Metaphor, like metonymy, is also the result of transference of the name of one object to another ob­ject. However, metaphoric transference is of different nature: it is based upon similarity of the objects (not contiguity). Classification. The nature of metaphor is versatile, and metaphors may be classified according to a number of principles. 1. According to the pragmatic effect produced upon the addressee met­aphors are subdivided into trite (or dead) and genuine (or original). Dead metaphors are fixed in dictionaries. They often sound banal and hackneyed, like cliches: to prick up one's ears; the apple of one's eye; to burn with desire. Original metaphors are not registered in dictionaries. They are created in speech by speakers' imagination. They sound fresh and expressive, unexpected and unpredictable: Some books are to be tasted, others swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. 2. According to the degree of their stylistic potential metaphors are clas­sified into nominational, cognitive and imaginative (or figurative). Nomitional metaphors do not render any stylistic information. They are in­tended to name new objects or phenomena of the objective world. A nomina­tional metaphor is a purely technical device of nomination, when a new notion ~med by means of the old vocabulary: the arm of the chair, the foot of the hill. Nominational metaphor is a source of lexical homonymy.When an object obtains a quality which is typical of another object, cognitive metaphor is formed: One more day has died. A witty idea has come to me. Being a source of lexical polysemy, cognitive metaphors do not possess at stylistic value.The most expressive kind of metaphor is imaginative metaphor. Imag­inative metaphors are occasional and individual. They are bright, image-bear­2, picturesque and poetic: Time was bleeding away. If there is enough rain, the land will shout with grass. 3. Metaphors may be also classified according to their structure (or ac­cording to complexity of image created). There are such metaphors as sim­ple (or elementary) and prolonged (or sustained). A simple metaphor con­sists of a single word or word-combination expressing indiscrete notion: The leaves were falling sorrowfully. A good book is the best of friends. A sustained metaphor appears in cases when a word which has been used metaphorically makes other words of the sentence or paragraph also realize their metaphoric meanings: The average New Yorker is caught in a Machine. He whirls along, he is dizzy, he is helpless. If he resists, the Machine will mangle him. If he does not resist, it will daze him first with its glittering reiterations, so that when the mangling comes he is past knowing. In fact, a sustained metaphor is a sequence of simple metaphors, most of which are cognitive. This chain of simple metaphors unfolds the meaning of the first, initial metaphor. Communicative functions. Metaphor is one of the most powerful means of creating images. Its main function is aesthetic. Its natural sphere of usage is poetry and elevated prose. Additional features. Canonized metaphors tend to become symbols. A symbol is an object which stands for something else. It is a reference in speech or in writing which is made to stand for ideas, feelings, events, or conditions. A symbol is usually something tangible or concrete which evokes something abstract.

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ANTONOMASIA This variety of metaphor is based upon the principle of identifica­tion of human beings with things which surround them. People may be identified with other people, with animals, with inanimate objects and natural phenomena.When the speaker resorts to antonomasia, he creates the so-called "talk­ing names" which aim at depicting certain traits of human character: moral and psychological features, peculiarities of behaviour, outlook, etc.: John is a real Romeo. Sam is the Napoleon of crime.

PERSONIFICATION When the speaker ascribes human behaviour, thoughts and actions to inanimate objects, he resorts to the stylistic device of personification: Lie is a strange creature, and a very mean one. The night was creeping towards the travelers

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allegory is antonomasia. The only difference between them lies in their usage: the domain of allegory is not a sentence but the whole text (a logically completed narration of facts or events). There are allegoric tales and fables, stories and novels. Completely allegoric are such fables by I. Krylov as "Elephant and mongrel", "Monkey and spectacles". Allegoric fables are not about elephants, dogs and donkeys. They are about people who behave like these animals: Свиня з Мурахою сперечалися, хто з них двох багатший.

Epithets are such attributes which describe objects expressively. Assigned features. It is essential to differentiate between logical attributes and epithets proper. Logical attributes are objective and nonevaluating: a round table, green meadows, second boy. They have nothing to do with stylistics.

Epithets proper are subjective and evaluating, mostly metaphorical. These qualities make epithets expressive: loud ocean, wild wind, crazy be­haviour. Classification. Epithets may be classified on the basis of their semantic and structural properties. Semantically, epithets fall into two groups: epithets associated with the nouns modified and epithets not associated with the nouns modified. Associated epithets point out typical features of the objects which they describe. Such typical features are implied by the meaning of the nouns themselves: if forest, then – dark; if attention, then – careful. Unassociated epithets ascribe such qualities to objects which are not inherent in them. As a result of this, metaphors emerge fresh, unexpected. original and expressive: voiceless sands, helpless loneliness. Unassociated epithets may be called "speech epithets" because they art created right in the process of communication.

Associated epithets are mostly language epithets. Their use with certain nouns has become traditional and stable. Thus, they are language-as-­system elements. As to their structural composition, epithets are divided into simple, compound, phrasal and clausal. Simple epithets are ordinary adjectives: magnificent sight, tremendous pressure. Compound epithets are expressed by compound adjectives: curly-headed boy, heart-burning desire. Phrasal epithets are expressed by word-combinations of quotation type: do-it-yourself command, go-to-devil request. Clausal epithets are expressed by sentences: I-don't-want-to-do-it feeling.

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IRONY This figure of quality is realized when the speaker intentionally breaks the principle of sincerity of speech. Ironically used words acquire meanings opposite to their primary language meanings: ironical good means bad, enough means not enough. Assigned features. Though irony is a contextual stylistic device, there exist -as and word-combinations which convey ironical meaning out of context: too clever by half, a young hopeful, head cook and bottle washer, to orate. In order to help the addressee decode irony the speaker often resorts to appropriate intonation and gestures. Communicative function. Irony is generally used to convey a negative meaning or emotion: irritation, regret, dissatisfaction, disappointment, displeasure, etc. ex-s: What a noble illustration of the tender laws of this. Thank you very much for trumping my ace! There are various types of irony. They have in common the adoption of a distance from the subject for satirical or critical effect. A speaker might take up an opponent's argument and then exaggerate it to reveal its weaknesses. This is Socratic irony. Writers or speakers might pretend to hold opinions which are the exact opposite of what they truly believe. Dramatic irony occurs when the audience at a play know something of which the characters on stage are ignorant. Irony is often classed as a form of humour, along with sarcasm and satire. These do not necessarily evoke laughter, but rather a wry shrug or assent to the idea that the received world picture has been disturbed.

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SIMILE This figure of identity consists in expressive comparison of two ob­jects which have something in common. Assigned features. Simile should not be confused with logical compar­ison which is devoid of any stylistic meaning. The sentence "John can run as fast as Jack" contains purely logical confrontation of two objects. Here are some more examples of logical comparison: John is older than Sam. John behaves like his father. Classification. Simile may be expressed by means of the following struc­tural variants:1. Conjunctions as or like: Rosa is as beautiful as a flower Paula is like a fairy. 2. Adverbial clauses of comparison (conjunctions as, as if, as though): Viola behaves as if she were a child. 3. Adjectives in the comparative degree: Roy behaved worse than a cut­throat. 4. Adverbial word-combinations containing prepositional attributes: With the quickness of a cat, Samuel climbed up the tree. 5. Simile may be implied, having no formal indications of comparison: Odette had a strange resemblance to a captive bird. Communicative function. Simile is one of the most frequent and effective means of making speech expressive. The more unexpected the confron­tation of two objects is, the more expressive sounds simile.

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SYNONYMS The speaker resorts to synonymic nomination of the same notion due to a number of reasons. These reasons become obvious if we turn to functional predestination of synonyms. Communicative functions. 1. Compositional function. If the same word is repeated a number of times in a limited fragment of speech, the speech becomes clumsy, monoto­nous and stylistically crippled: John came into the room. John was excited. John threw himself into the arm-chair... The clumsiness is removed by means of contextual synonyms: John = he the man = Sam's brother = the victim of the situation, etc. 2. Specifying function. To describe the object in a thorough, profound and detailed way, the speaker composes a chain of synonymic words of the same syntactic function: Oswald's life was fading, fainting, gasping away, extinguishing slowly. 3. Intensifying function. A chain of synonyms is a potent means of expressing human feelings and emotions. Scores of subjective modal mean­ings may be rendered with the help of synonymic repetition: request, invita­tion, gratitude, gladness, impatience, certainty, hatred, irritation, disgust, hor­ror, indignation, fury, ex-le: Could you leave me now, Rupert. I'm exhausted, tired, weary of the whole thing!

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OXYMORON This figure of contrast is a combination of words which are seman­tically incompatible. As a result, the object under description obtains char­acteristics contrary to its nature: hot snow, loving hate, horribly beautiful, nice blackguard. Classification. The main structural pattern of oxymoron is "adjective + noun" (hot snow). The second productive model is "adverb + adjective" (pleasantly ugly). Predicative relations are also possible (Sofia's beauty is horrible). Besides that, oxymoron may occasionally be realized through free syntactic patterns, such as up the down staircase. Communicative function. Oxymoron has great expressive potential. It is normally used in cases when there is a necessity to point out contradictory and complicated nature of the object under description.

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ANTITHESIS This figure of contrast stands close to oxymoron. The major differ­ence between them is structural: oxymoron is realized through a single word-combination, while antithesis is a confrontation of at least two sep­-rate phrases semantically opposite. "wise foolishness" is an oxymoron;"... the age of wisdom, the age of foolishness" is an antithesis. Assigned features. Syntactic structures expressing the meaning of an­tithesis are quite various: a simple extended sentence, a composite sentence, paragraph or even chain of paragraphs. The main lexical means of antithesis information is antonyms (words opposite in meaning): danger – security, life– death, empty -occupied, to hurry – to go slow. However, the use of antonyms is not strictly obligatory. Antithesis may also be formed through situational confrontation of two notions expressed by non-antonymous words. ex-le: Isabel's salary was high; Isabel's work was light. It was the season of light, it was the season of darkness.

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CLIMAX (GRADATION) This figure of inequality consists in arranging the utterance so that each subsequent component of it increases significance, importance or emotional tension of narration: There was the boom, then instantly the shriek and burst. Classification. Gradation which increases emotional tension of the ut­terance may be called emotional. Emotional gradation is created by syn­onymic words with emotive meanings: nice – lovely – beautiful – fair – magnificent. Gradation revealing the quantity of objects may be called quantitative: There were hundreds of houses, thousands of stairs, innumerable kitchens.

ANTICLIMAX It consists in arranging the utterance so that each subsequent com­ponent of it decreases significance, importance or emotional tension of narration: If John's eyes fill with tears, you may have no doubt: he has been eating raw onions. Climax and anticlimax may be combined, like in the anecdote.

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ZEUGMA A zeugmatic construction consists of at least three constituents. The basic word of it stands in the same grammatical but different semantic relations to a couple of adjacent words. The basic word combined with the first adjacent word forms a phraseological word-combination. The same basic word combined with the second adjacent word forms a free word-combination. ex-e: reddy got out of bed and low spirits. Communicative function. Zeugma is used to create a humoristic effect which achieved by means of contradiction between the similarity of the two syn­tactic structures and their semantic heterogeneity. ex-l: George possessed two false teeth and a kind heart.

PUN The principle of semantic incompatibility of language units realized in zeugma is also realized in pun. In fact, pun is a variant of zeugma, or vice versa. The difference is structural: pun is more independent, it does not need a basic component like zeugma. Pun is just a play on words. Classification. 1. Play on words may be based upon polysemy and homonymy: Visitor, to a little boy:Is your mother engaged?Engaged? She is already married. 2. Play on words may be based upon similarity of pronunciation: John said to Pete at dinner: "Carry on". But Pete never ate carrion.

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ELLIPSIS

An elliptical sentence is such a syntactic structure in which there is no subject, or predicate, or both. The main parts of elliptical sentences are omitted by the speaker intentionally in cases when they are semantically re­dundant.

Assigned features. Elliptical sentences can not be viewed as stylistic devices in direct intercourse because they are devoid of suprasegmental information. Ellipsis becomes expressive when used in literature as a means of imitating real speech. Ellipsis makes speech dynamic, informative and unofficial.

Communicative functions. Ellipsis saves the speaker from needless ef­fort, spares his time, reduces redundancy of speech. Elliptical structures may also reveal such speakers' emotions as excitement, impatience, delight, etc. As a stylistic device, ellipsis is an effective means of protagonists' portrayal.

More examples: - Hullo! Who are you? - The staff. - Where are the others? - At the front.

APOSIOPESIS (BREAK-IN-THE-NARRATIVE)

Like ellipsis, aposiopesis is also realized through incompleteness of sentence structure, though this incompleteness is of different structural and semantic nature: it appears when the speaker is unwilling to proceed and breaks off his narration abruptly:

Assigned features. The information implied by aposiopesis is usually clear in communicative situation. Break-in-the-narrative expresses such modal meanings as threat, warning, doubt, indecision, excitement, and promise.

Note. Aposiopesis should not be confused with unintentional break in the narrative, when the speaker does not know what to say. Unintentional break off is of no stylistic significance, though it may serve as an indirect ^evidence of the speaker's confusion, his being at a loss.

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Asyndeton.This stylistic device is also based on the deliberate omission of some parts of the sentence structure, namely, the conjunctions and connective elements. If the reader feels that there is such an omission, he interprets it as a stylistic device. Consider the following example

Soames turned away; he had an utter disinclination for talk, watching a coffin slowly lowered. (G.) As we can see, the intentional omission of the subordinative conjunction because or for makes the sentence "he had an utter..." almost entirely independent. It might be perceived as a characteristic feature of Soames in general, if it were not for the comparison beginning with like, which shows that Soames's mood was temporary.

It is maintained that asyndeton has a strong rhythmic effect. By cutting off connective words, it helps to create the effect of terse, energetic, active prose.

3. Nominative sentences.These are one-member sentences consisting only of a nominal group, which is semantically and communicatively self-sufficient. As for isolated words, they cannot be considered one-member sentences because they always rely on the context for the semantic fulfilment and are thus heavily ellipticized sentences. They are often used in emotive prose in descriptions of nature, interior, appearance, etc. to produce an effect of a detailed but laconic picture foregrounding its main components, and as the background of dialogue, mentioning the emotions, attitudes, moods of the characters. E.g. Malay Camp. A row of streets crossing another row of streets. Mostly narrow streets. Mostly dirty streets. Mostly dark streets. (P. A.) The cluster of nominative sentences introduces the reader to the locality in which the action will be laid, thus unfolding to him both the essential features of the place and his personal attitude to the camp.

The ellipticizing of sentences may lead to the disappearance of all sentence parts and leaving behind only one word which acquires a strong emotional impact. The word may belong to practically any part of speech, even a preposition or conjunction, e.g. They could keep the Minden Street shop going until they got the notice to quit; which might not be for two years. Or they could wait and see what kind of alternative promises were offered. If the site was good. - If. Or. And, quite inevitably, borrowing money. (J.Br.) Here the synsemantic conjunctions receiving the status of sentences are obviously promoted in their semantic and expressive value.

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Repetition. It is common knowledge that repetition is widely used in oral speech, its aim being to make a direct emotional impact on the listener. Thus, in the following example from Galsworthy the excited state of mind of the speaker is shown:

"Stop!" she cried, "Don't tell me! I don't want to hear; I don't want to hear what you 've come for. I don't want to hear".

When it is used by writers as a stylistic device, its function is different. In this case it aims at logical emphasis, an emphasis necessary to fix the attention of the reader on the key-word of the utterance. Repetition is a recurrence of the same word, word-combination, phrase or a sentence two or more times. According to the place which the repeated unit occupies in a sentence the following varieties of repetition can be singled out:

1. Anaphora - the repeated unit comes at the beginning of two or more consecutive sentences, clauses or phrases. E.g. / might as well face fads: good-bye, Susan, good-bye a big car, good-bye a big house, good-bye the silly handsome dreams. (J.Br.)

2. Epiphora - the end of successive sentences (clauses) is repeated. E.g. / wake up and I'm alone and I walk round Warley and I'm alone; and I talk with people and I'm alone. (J.Br.) The main stylistic function of both anaphora and epiphora is to create the background for the non-repeated unit, which, through its novelty, becomes foregrounded. J. Framing - the initial parts of a syntactical unit, in most cases of a, paragraph, are repeated at the end of it. Framing makes the whole utterance more compact and more complete. E.g. Obviously - this is a streptococcal infection. Obviously. (W.D.) Its function is to clear up the notion mentioned at the beginning of the utterance. Between two appearances of the repeated unit stands the middle part of the utterance which explains and clarifies what was introduced at the beginning.

4. Catch repetition - the end of one clause or sentence is repeated at the beginning of the following one. Specification of the semantics occurs here, too, but on a more modest level. E.g. And a great desire for peace, peace of no matter what kind, swept through her. (A.B.)

5. Chain repetition is a combination of several successive catch repetitions. E.g. To think better of it, "returned the gallant Blandois", "would be to slight a lady, to slight a lady would be deficient in chivalry towards the sex, and chivalry towards the sex is a part of my character" (D.).

6. Ordinaiy repetition has no fixed place in the sentence, its function is to emphasize both the logical and the emotional meanings of the repeated unit. E.g. / really don't see anything romantic in proposing, ft is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal. (O.W.)

7. Successive repetition is a string of repeated units closely following each other. This variety of repetition is the most emphatic, because it shows the peak of emotions of the speaker. E.g. / wanted to knock over the table and hit him until my arm had no more strength in it, then give him the boot, give him the boot, give him the boot — / drew in a deep breath. (J.Br.)

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Polysyndeton. This is a special way of connecting words, phrases or sentences by means of conjunctions and prepositions before each component part. E.g. Bella soaped his face and rubbed his face, and soaped his hands and rubbed his hands, and splashed him, and rinsed him, and towelled him until he was as red as beetroot. (D.) As we can see, the repetition of conjunctions makes the utterance more rhythmical, so that prose may look like verse.

Besides, polysyndeton has a disintegrating function. Unlike enumeration, it causes each member of a string of facts to stand out conspicuously. It also has the function of expressing sequence, especially in the sentences where the conjunction and can be easily replaced by the conjunction then. When polysyndeton is used, it strengthens the idea of equal logical or emotive importance of connected syntactical units.

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So, to analyze the sentence stylistically on the syntactic level, we will admitthat most common and currently used are two-member sentences containingsubject and predicate and perhaps, some secondary elements, having normal wordorder and the function.Syntactic expressive means and stylistic devices of the English language:

•based on reduction of the initial sentence model: ellipsis, aposiopesis,nominative sentences, asyndeton;

•based on extension of the initial sentence model: repetition, enumeration,tautology, polysyndeton, "it is (was) he, who...", the emphatic verb "todo", parenthetic sentences;

• based on change of word-order: inversion, detachment;

•based on interaction of syntactic structures in context: parallel constructions;

•based on transposition of meaning and connection of constituent parts:rhetoric questions, parceling.

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Stylistic inversion. This is a stylistic device in which the traditional direct order of the English sentence S-P-O is changed either completely so that the predicate (predicative) precedes the subject fully or partially or the object precedes the subject. So we distinguish complete and partial inversion. Unlike grammatical inversion, stylistic inversion does not change the structural meaning of the sentence. Its purpose is to attach logical stress or additional emotional colouring to the surface meaning of the sentence. That is why inversion is accompanied by a specific intonation pattern.

The types of inversion predominantly used in Modem English are as follows:

1. The object stands at the beginning of the sentence, e.g. Talent Mr. Micawber has; capital Mr. Micawber has not. {L)

2. The attribute expressed by an adjective stands in post-position to the noun it modifies, e.g. But it's a letter congratulatory. (A.C.).

3. The predicative expressed by a noun or a pronoun precedes the subject, e.g. Insolent, wilful and singularly pretty was her aspect. (Ch.B.)

4. The adverbial modifier, usually standing at the end of the sentence, is placed at the beginning, e.g. Eagerly I wished the morrow. (E.Poe) When the reader notices that the traditional word order is violated, he should be aware of the author's intention to attach special importance to the inverted part of the sentence and look for some additional information lying behind it. In Modern English we often come across questions which are presented as affirmative sentences, the only indication, of their
interrogative nature being the question mark at the end. E.g. Then he said: "You think so? She was mixed up in this lousy business? (J.Br.) The inverted question presupposes the answer with more certainty than the normative one. It is the assuredness of the speaker of the positive answer that constitutes additional information which is brought into the question by the inverted word order.

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Detachment. This device is used by writers to make the reader pay special attention to some parts of the sentence which are placed in such a position that formally they seem independent of the words they refer to, but their semantic connection with such words is clearly perceived by the reader. Detached parts of the sentence may be different in length - from a single word to an extended group of words. E.g. Daylight was dying, the moon rising, gold behind the poplars. (G.) The italicized phrase in bold type seems to be isolated, but still the connection with the primary members of the sentence is clearly perceived, so gold behind the poplars may be interpreted as a simile or a metaphor.

The stylistic function of detachment lies in emphasizing the meaning of the detached part, attaching special significance to it. E.g. She was lovely: all of her - delightful. (Dr.) In this sentence the punctuation mark plays an important role. The dash standing before the word makes it conspicuous and, being isolated, it becomes the culminating point of the climax - lovely... - delightful, i.e. the peak of the whole utterance. The phrase all of her is also isolated. The general impression, suggested by the
implied intonation, is a strong feeling of admiration.

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Parallel constructions. This is the reiteration of the structure of several successive sentences or clauses which are identical or similar in their structure. Parallel constructions may be partial or complete. Partial parallelism is the repetition of some parts of successive sentences or clauses, e.g. If we are Frenchmen we adore our mother; if Englishmen, we love dogs and virtue. (J.J.) Complete parallelism maintains the principle of identical structures throughout the corresponding sentences, e.g. / told him you were sick, I told him you were asleep. (W.Sh.)

Parallelism is often combined with other stylistic devices and is used to back them up, such as lexical repetition, alliteration, antithesis. It is widely used in the belles-lettres style, in publicistic and scientific prose with different functions.

1. In emotive prose the main function is to intensify the communicative and expressive significance of the utterance, e.g. It was not a day to be without a job or cigarettes or lunch. It was not a day in which he had no interest in it. (I.Shaw)

2. Syntactic parallelism may unite semantically different elements into complex syntactic unities, creating a true-to-life description of the event, e.g. Shelling the peas, smelling the onions cooking, watching the deft movements of her perfectly manicured hands, hearing the gay murmur of her voice, he felt the depression of the last weeks lift. (D.C.)

3. In oratory and publicistic style the main function of parallel constructions is to stress the main idea of the utterance, to convince the reader or the listener, to cause him to accept the author's point of view, e.g. But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal - there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller... (H. Lee). In the attorney's speech parallelism creates the effect of gravity and authority.

4. When used in scientific prose parallelism elucidates the scientific phenomenon and helps to impose upon the reader the author's point of view, e.g. In some cases, a chronological or logical sequence can in English be changed in presentational order (e.g. told backwards); when this is done, the referential structure of the tale is unaffected, but the grammatical structure of the telling is radically altered. Grammatical order is necessarily linear, but referential order is at least potentially simultaneous. (K.Pk.)

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Rhetorical question. This is a specific interrogative construction which is a question in form, but remains a statement semantically. The rhetorical question does not demand any information because the answer to it is in the question itself. Rhetorical questions make an indispensable part of oratoric speech because they successfully emphasize the orator's ideas. E.g. But who bothers to sort out the conflicting economic, social and other motives here and to mitigate accordingly? (Th.D.) The rhetorical question reinforces the meaning of the interrogative sentence and conveys a stronger shade of emotive meaning.

In emotive prose rhetorical questions are used to pronounce judgements and they also express various kinds of modal shades of meaning, such as doubt, scorn, challenge, irony and so on. This is backed up by intonation which differs considerably from the intonation of ordinary questions. E.g., in the following example the reader can't but feel a touch ofbitterness:

Have I not have to wrestle with my lot? Have I not suffered things to be forgiven? (B.)

Rhetorical questions in the form of negative-interrogative sentences are always charged with emotive meaning and modality, and imply doubt, sometimes assertion, sometimes suggestion. They are used in author's narration and represented speech as a means of reproducing the meditations of the author or of the character, e.g. The naivete with which she pursued such activities was part of her nature, he had his own peculiarities, why should he not indulge hers?

№50

Parcellation. This is a specific device of expressive syntax consisting in the deliberate breaking of a single syntactic structure into two or more intentionally isolated parts separated from each other by a pause (or a full stop in writing). This device emerges because of the influence of colloquial speech on literary language. It is common knowledge that when we speak we don't think of what we are going to say in advance, so oral speech abounds in grammatical deviations from the norm, deletions, gaps, associative additions of new facts and thoughts. When they penetrate into literary speech, such constructions are employed by writers for creating different effects, reflecting the spontaneity and ease of colloquial speech.

Here are the typical functions of parcellation in emotive prose:

1. It may specify the context of the basic part of the utterance, e.g. There was a moment of queer, not entirely amiable silence. Of waiting to see. (C.A.)

2. It is used for characterizing the psychological state of the literary personage, e.g. They stood around him. Talking. Poles, he reasoned, with what was left of his mind. (D.Wh.)

3. It may perform a descriptive function, depicting the environment, conditions or details of the events described, e.g. My hubby has hung himself. In the bathroom. With the cord. (D.Wh.)

4. The parcellation of homogeneous simple predicates with the conjunction and which makes the utterance rhythmical, conveys dynamism of the action, e.g. With that perhaps in mind, he broke away briefly, and ran into the plating shop. And returned with a rope, or coil of little cord. (D.Wh.)

It is obvious that parcellation gives a special rhythmical effect to prose. The reader feels involved in the described events and is emotionally moved.

Date: 2016-02-19; view: 1486; Нарушение авторских прав